Multiple cable electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A multiple cable electrical connector comprises a metallic body having a base portion and at least three spaced-apart legs extending upwardly from the base portion. The legs have axial recesses therein for receiving the ends of electrical conductor cables. Each leg has a lateral threaded bore intersecting the recess at substantially right angles and a setscrew is threadedly received in each bore. Each setscrew has an inner end received in the recess and a saddle clamp is mounted on the inner end of each setscrew in each recess. The base portion of the connector and at least one leg may be completely encapsulated in elastomeric electrical insulating material. The insulating material may be bonded to the base portion and unbonded to the one leg so that it is easily peeled off from the leg. The legs are spaced in such a manner that two connectors may be interdigitated to provide double the number of available recesses while taking up very little additional space.

United States Patent Julius R. Subo; Richard P. Mott, both 01?.0. Box 5000,

[72] Inventors Cleveland,0hio44l01 [21] Appl.No. 770,587 22 Filed 0ct.25, 1968 [45] Patented Sept.l4,l97l

[54] MULTIPLE CABLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 339/36, 339/60, 339/242, 339/272, 339/22 [51] lnt.Cl H01r 13/44 [50] Field ol'Search 339/36, 60, 242, 272

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,021,399 1 1/1935 Becker, Sr. et a1... 339/242 2,087,384 7/1937 Lee 339/242 3,137,764 6/1964 Gunthel,.lr. et al. 174/72 3,350,677 10/1967 Daum 339/149 FOREIGN PATENTS 603,254 8/1960 Canada 339/272 518,329 2/1931 Germany 339/242 Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant Examiner.loseph H. McGlynn Attorney-Meyer, Tilberry and Body ABSTRACT: A multiple cable electrical connector comprises a metallic body having a base portion and at least three spaced-apart legs extending upwardly from the base portion. The legs have axial recesses therein for receiving the ends of electrical conductor cables. Each leg has a lateral threaded bore intersecting the recess at substantially right angles and a setscrew is threadedly received in each bore. Each setscrew has an inner end received in the recess and a saddle clamp is mounted on the inner end of each setscrew in each recess. The base portion of the connector and at least one leg may be completely encapsulated in elastomeric electrical. insulating material. The insulating material may be bonded to the base portion and unbonded to the one leg so that it is easily peeled off from the leg. The legs are spaced in such a manner that two connectors may be interdigitated to provide double the number of available recesses while taking up very little additional space.

PATENTED SEP 1 4 Ian sum 1 or 2 FIG. 3

INVENTORS.

JULIUS R. SZABO 5 BY RICHARD P. MOTT I 1%,, 71am, 8 Bad;

ATTORNEYS PATENTEUSEPMIHYI 3605067 SHEET 2 0r 2 ATTORNEYS MULTIPLE CABLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application pertains to the art of electrical connectors and more particularly to a multiple cable electrical connector.

The present invention is particularly applicable to electrical connectors which are adapted to be buried in the ground or exposed to liquids which cause deterioration of metallic members. The invention will be described with particular reference to a waterproof secondary connector although it will be appreciated that certain aspects of the invention have broader application outside of the waterproof connector field.

connecting an electrical service cable with a plurality of feeder cables has always been a very difficult operation. Such connections are usually made underground in a very small hole or in other places where access is extremely limited and a person must often make connections by feel. That is, the person often cannot see the place at which the connections are being made due to obstructions or limited space.

Multiple cable electrical connectors are often used to connect several different sizes of wires or cables. Many prior art devices have used special adapters for securing different size cables to a common connecting member. These special adapters are of different sizes themselves for securely accommodating cables of different sizes. With a device of this type, a large supply of different-sized adapters must be kept on hand at all times to be sure that connections may be made when different size wires are being used. This prior art type of device also poses problems in that it is possible to use a wrong size adapter for a particular wire or cable size. That is, an adapter which is slightly too large may be used to secure a particular cable to a connector and the joint will be very insecure.

Many prior art multiple cable electrical connectors have connector legs extending upwardly and downwardly or in many other directions from a common bus portion. With such connectors, it is very difficult to make connections in a cramped space such as a small hole in the earth because many of the connector legs extend toward the walls of the hole or toward the bottom of the hole. In addition, when such a connector is uncovered to add an additional feeder line it is often necessary to waste considerable time and effort to uncover a sufficiently large area so of the connector.

It is often desireable or necessary to make an additional service and feeder connection at the same point as existing service and feeder connection. In such situations, the available number of connections may all be in use. With prior art devices, it was usually necessary to completely disconnect the existing connector and reconnect a new one having a greater number of connecting points than the original. Simply adding an additional connector at the point where the original is placed was often difficult in prior art arrangement because the two connectors had to be laid side-by-side or on top of one another in such a manner that they occupied double the space of the original single connector. This is sometimes impossible to do because the area where the connectors are positioned is insufficient to accommodate two connectors. In such situations, it is not possible to make the additional service and feeder connections at the same point and considerable time and effort must be spent in making a new service and feeder connection in a completely different spot.

Multiple cable electrical connectors are often covered with an electrical insulating material. In prior devices, the entire connector was often insulated by dipping the entire connector in a hardenable liquid insulation. This procedure also covers the legs of the connector. With this procedure, the insulating material was often one which would securely bond to the metal connector. In such cases, it was extremely difficult to remove the insulating material from a leg when it as desired to make a connection. In other cases, the insulating material was of a type which would not securely bond to the metal connector. In such cases, removal of the insulation from a leg to make ajoint was simplified but the insulating material tended to slip on the other portions of the connector and make waterproofing ofajoint very difficult. The unbonded insulating material over'the entire connector also tended to allow entrance of foreign material any time one leg was left uncovered for a period of time in a storage area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a multiple cable electrical connector is provided with a least three parallel spaced-apart leg members which extend upwardly at right angles in the same direction from a base portion. In this manner, all of the electrical connections are made from the same side of the connector and there is no problem with making connections close to the walls of a small hole or the like. More specifically, the connector of the preset invention has at least three legs which are positioned at the apices of an isosceles triangle. Such a triangle has two base angles and an apex angle. Two of the legs are positioned at the base angles and one leg is positioned at the apex angle. The two legs positioned at the base angles are spaced-apart a distance at least as great as the width of the other leg. The base is of substantially Y-shaped so that it has one main arm and a pair of diverging arms. The leg positioned at the apex angle is spaced from the legs at the base angles a distance which is at least as great as the width of the diverging arms of the base portion. With this arrangement, two connectors may be reversely positioned and interdigitated so that the available number of connector legs is doubled while very little additional space is occupied.

In accordance with the present invention, each leg member of the connector is provided with an axial recess for receiving the ends of a cable or wire and each leg is also provided with a threaded lateral bore. The lateral bores intersect the axial recesses and a'setscrew is thrcadedly engaged in each bore. Each setscrew has an inner end which extends into its corresponding recess and a saddle clamp is attached to the inner end of each setscrew within each recess. In this manner, cables of various sizes may be securely clamped within the recesses in each leg simply by moving the setscrews to various positions to securely clamp the cable by means of the saddle clamp. A very secure connection is made in this manner to various-sized cables without need of any special adapters or the like.

The connector of the present invention also has its base portion and at least one leg member completely encapsulated in elastomeric electrical insulating material. The insulating material is bonded to the base portion but is left unbonded to the one leg so that the insulating material may be easily removed from the one leg to make an additional joint.

It is a principle object of the present invention to provide a multiple cable electrical connector which is very economical to manufacture and install due to its simplicity and the ease with which electrical cables are joined to it.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a connector with specially positioned leg members so that two connectors may be reversely positioned and interdigitated to double the number of joints available while occupying very little additional space.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a connector with clamping means for securing electrical cables thereto without requiring special adapters or any modifications for a plurality of different-sized cables.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a connector with elastomeric electrical insulating material which is bonded to the body or bus portion and is unbonded to one of the leg members so that it may easily be removed from the leg to make an additional joint.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the multiple cable electrical connector of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing two of the electrical connectors of FIG. 1 in interdigitated position; 7

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a slightly modified electrical connector made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of two interdigited connectors made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken on line 7 7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of an electrical connector of the type shown in FIG. 6 showing the shape of the base portion and with a triangle superimpose thereon to show the positioning of the leg members on the base.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows an electrical'connector A having a base portion B and a plurality of legs C, D, E, F and G. Base portion B is substantially flat and defines the bus portion of the electrical connector. Leg members C-G extend upwardly from base portion B in the same direction and in parallel, spaced-apart relationship.

Each leg member C-G has a substantially flat free end 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 spaced above base portion B. EAch leg also has an axial recess formed therein as at 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30. Recesses 22-30 extend axially of legs C-G from free ends 12-20 down to base portion B.

As best shown in FIG. 4, each leg member C-G includes an outer surface portion 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40. Outer surface portions 32-40 face outwardly from base portion B, and outer surface portions 32, 34 in legs C and D face outwardly in an opposite direction from outer surface portions 36, 38 and 40 of legs E, F and G. Each leg member C-G has a threaded lateral bore 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 extending from outer surface portions 32-40 and intersecting recesses 22-30 at substantially right angles. Each lateral bore 42-50 threadedly receives a threaded setscrew 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60. Each setscrew 52-60 has an inner end portion positioned within a recess 22-30, and a saddle clamp 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 positioned in each of recesses 22-30 is attached to the inner end portion of setscrews 52-60. The inner end portions of setscrews 52-60 may extend through a hole in saddle clamp 62-70 and be spun over to hold the saddle clamps thereto while permitting rotation of setscrews 52-60 relative to saddle clamp 62-70.

As shown in FIG. 1, setscrew 58 may be formed with an axial hexagonal socket 74 for receiving a hexagonal shape wrench. Each setscrew 52-60 may be formed withsuch a hexagonal socket for receiving a hexagonal-shaped wrench. Setscrews 52-60 may then be rotated within threaded bores 42-50 to move saddle clamps 62-70 laterally of recesses 22-30. It is obvious that other wrench arrangements may be provided for setscrews 52-60 in place of the hexagonal socket described.

With this setscrew and saddle clamp arrangement, varioussized cables or wires may be inserted into recesses 22-30 and securely retained due to the adjustability of setscrews 52-60 and saddle clamps 62-70. No special adapters or other modification of the connector is necessary in order to hold a plurality of different sizes of cable. As shown in the drawing, one leg F of a connector A may be substantially larger than leg C, D, E and G. For example, leg F may be double the size of the other legs. In addition, recess 28 in leg F may be substantially larger than the recesses in the other legs. For example, recess 28 may be double the diameter of recesses 22, 24, 26 and 30. In this manner, leg F ad recess 28 may serve as a connection for the main service cable while the other legs and recesses serve as connections for feeder cables such as 82 add 84 in FIG. 4.

Connector A is preferably cast in one piece of metal such as aluminum or copper with legs C-G being integral with base portion B. Connector A is preferably coated with an elastomeric electrical insulating material 92 such as natural or synthetic rubber, polyvinylchloride or polyethylene. A connector A may be dipped into such insulating materials in a liquid state to coat the connector and the material then allowed to harden. In a preferred arrangement, base portion B and that portion of each leg C-F to a point below bores 42-50 are primed with a bonding agent for the insulating material such as rubber-based cement or other elastomeric. adhesives based on natural or synthetic rubber. With connector A primed in this manner with a bonding agent 92, the entire connector may be dipped into the insulating material. The insulating material will then bond to the connector only in the primed areas and will completely cover the unprimed areas but will not be securely bonded thereto. In this manner, the insulating material on the upper portion of each leg C-F may be cut through with a knife or sharp instrument along a line around the outer periphery of each leg slightly below bores 42-50. This portion of the insulating material may then be easily removed from a leg to expose the corresponding recess and setscrew so that an electrical cable may be joined to that leg. In one arrangement, a connector may be dipped in insulating material in such a manner that three legs such as C, D and F are left uncovered by insulating material while legs E and G are completely-encapsulated in insulating material. When a connector A is placed in use, there will usually be at least one service connection to leg F and a pair of feeder connections to leg C and D. If there are no other feeder connections to be made, legs E and G are simply left covered by the insulating material. At a later time, additional feeder connections may be desired, and insulating material 94 is simply cut and removed from legs E and G to make additional connections. When a cable is connected to any of legs C-G the joint may be taped or covered by heat shrinkable plastic sleeve such as 102 and 104 in FIG. 2. Such a heat shrinkable sleeve or tape may extend from the insulation 106 and 108 on a cable 84 or 82 down to insulating material 92 on connector A near base portion B. In this manner, each joint and the entire connector is completely waterproof.

Although the connector described with reference to FIG. I has five legs it will be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of legs may be provided as long as the same distribution pattern and spacing is maintained. Regardless of the number of legs, not less than three, it will be noted that a connector always has a common feature of at least three legs positioned in a certain spacing and distribution patternv For example, FIG. 5 shows the connector of FIG. 1 with legs C and G removed so that the connector of FIG. 5 has only three legs D, E and F. It will be understood that a connector having four legs or more than five can also be provided and these connectors will also have the common feature of at least three legs arranged in a particular distribution and spacing pattern.

FIG. 6 shows two of the connectors of FIG. I with legs E and G removed to leave only three legs C, D and F. As shown in FIG. 8, a connector of FIG. 6 has a base B and legs C, D and F positioned at the apices of an isosceles triangle 112 which is shown in shadow lines. It will be understood that this could be an equilateral isosceles triangle and could deviate slightly from a perfect isosoceles form. Triangle 112 includes base angles I14 and 116, and an apex angle I18. Legs C and D are positioned respectively at base angles I14 and 116 of triangle 112 while leg F is positioned at apex angle I 18 of triangle 112. It will be noted that base B has a substantially Y-shape with a main arm I20 and secondary arms I22 and 124 diverging therefrom. Legs C and D are spaced apart a distance at least as great as the lateral width of leg F so that leg F will be receivable between legs C and D. The spacing between legs C and D may be great enough to receive leg F even with insulation material covering the legs. Arms 122 and 124 of Y-shaped base portion B each have a width dimension 130 and the spacing distance between legs C and F, and D and F is at least as great as width dimension 130. With this arrangement, two connectors may be reversely positioned and interdigitated as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to double the number of connecting legs available while occupying very little additional space. As shown in FIG. 6 and 7, two interdigitated connectors have the bottom of one base in contact with the top of another base while legs F are received between a pair of legs C and D.

Regardless of the number of legs provided on a connector A, all of the legs are arranged in triangular patterns as described with reference to FIG. 8 so that the connectors may be reversely positioned and interdigitated as described with reference to FIG. 6.

as shown in FIG. 3, pieces of masking tape as at 140 may be placed over recesses 22-30 of any of the legs and also over the outer ends of setscrews 52-60 before the connector is dipped in insulating material so that the insulating material will not enter recesses 22-30 or interfere with setscrews 52-60.

As shown in FIG. 2, recess 28 may have a restricted entrance opening 150 in free end 18 of leg F so that recess 28 is countersunk toward setscrew bore 48 beneath an overhanging lip 152 at the top of leg F. This countersunk portion of recess 28 may be wide enough to accommodate saddle 68 when setscrew 58 is backed off completely. In this manner, saddle 68 is protected when inserting a cable 80 through opening 150 into recess 28 and there is no danger of breaking saddle 68 off from the inner end of setscrew 58. In addition, there is no danger of getting cable 80 falsely positioned with some of its strands on the wrong side of saddle 68.

It will be noted that the substantially triangular positioning of the legs also provides optimum spacing between the legs in all directions so that adequate space is provided for taping or heat shrinking a sleeve in making a joint with no interference from other legs. It will also be noted that the space between adjacent legs on one side of a connector, and the absence of any base in this space, provides a passage for extending cables past one connector to another without requiring additional lateral space. For example, FIG. 7 shows two connectors in spaced-apart relationship with wire 80 extending through the open space between legs C & D in the upper connector to a connection with leg F in the spaced lower connector. In this manner, the addition of more cables to a passageway having one or more connectors in it does not require enlargement of I the passageway because the additional cables may be extended through the spaced between adjacent legs of the existing connectors.

While the present invention has been described only with reference to a preferred embodiment it is obvious that modifid. said leg members including free end portions and being positioned in spaced-apart relationship at the apices of an isosceles triangle having a pair of base angles and an apex angle,

e. connecting means on said free end portions of said leg members for connecting terminal ends of electrical conductors thereto in axially extending relation to said leg members,

f. two of said leg members being positioned on said secondary arms at said base angles and one of said leg members being positioned on said main arm at said apex angle, g. said two leg members being spaced-apart a distance at least as great as the width of said one leg member as measured along a line parallel to the base of said triangle whereby two such connectors may be reversely positioned in aligned relationship with the bases thereof extending parallel to one another and with the one leg of each connector located intermediate the two legs of the other connector so that all of the legs on both connectors extend parallel to one another and an electrical conductor connected to the one leg of one connector may extend between the two legs of the other connector.

2. The connector of claim I wherein said leg members have outer surface portions facing outwardly from said base portion and said connecting means includes axially extending recesses formed in said free end portions of said leg members, said leg members having lateral threaded bores formed therein extending from said outer surface portions and intersecting said recesses at substantially right angles, setscrew means threadedly received in said bores, said setscrew means having inner ends positioned in said recesses, and saddle clamp means attached to said inner ends of said setscrew means in said recesses.

3. The connector of claim 1 and further including electrical insulating material completely encapsulating said base portion and at least one of said leg members, said insulating material being bonded to said base portion and being unbonded to said one leg member. 

1. An electrical connector comprising; a. a metallic body member, b. said body member having a substantially Y-shaped base portion including a main arm and a pair of secondary arms, c. at least three leg members formed integrally with said base portion and extending outwardly therefrom substantially parallel to one another in a common direction at substantially right angles to said base portion, d. said leg members including free end portions and being positioned in spaced-apart relationship at the apices of an isosceles triangle having a pair of base angles and an apex angle, e. connecting means on said free end portions of said leg members for connecting terminal ends of electrical conductors thereto in axially extending relation to said leg members, f. two of said leg members being positioned on said secondary arms at said base angles and one of said leg members being positioned on said main arm at said apex angle, g. said two leg members being spaced-apart a distance at least as great as the width of said one leg member as measured along a line parallel to the base of said triangle whereby two such connectors may be reversely positioned in aligned relationship with the bases thereof extending parallel to one another and with the one leg of each connector located intermediate the two legs of the other connector so that all of the legs on both connectors extend parallel to one another and an electrical conductor connected to the one leg of one connector may extend between the two legs of the other connector.
 2. The connector of claim 1 wherein said leg members have outer surface portions facing outwardly from said base portion and said connecting means includes axially extending recesses formed in said free end portions of said leg members, said leg members having lateral threaded bores formed therein extending from said outer surface portions and intersecting said recesses at substantially right angles, setscrew means threadedly received in said bores, said setscrew means having inner ends positioned in said recesses, and saddle clamp means attached to said inner ends of said setscrew means in said recesses.
 3. The connector of claim 1 and further including electrical insulating material completely encapsulating said base portion and at least one of said leg members, said insulating material being bonded to said Base portion and being unbonded to said one leg member. 